The writing is the work, though. The words on paper (or wherever) are the end product, but they are not the point. See chapter 5 of Ahrens, Sönke. 2017. How to take smart notes: one simple technique to boost writing, learning and thinking - for students, academics and nonfiction book writers., for advice on how writing the ideas in your own words is the primary task and improves not only writing, but all intellectual skills, including reading and thinking. C. Wright Mills in his 1952 essay, "“On Intellectual Craftsmanship" says much the same thing. Stating the ideas in your own words is thinking.